Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-10-11
TEACHERS CERTIFICATES.

Under the administration OF Professor
Welcker as State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, his department held that, I'M
der the Perry" amendment to the Con-
stitution, all teachers certificates must
issue from the County Boards of Examina-
ton. At first the Constitution read that
the local Boards Of Education and Super
visors and Superintendent, "where there
are no County Boards, shall have control
of the examinations Of teachers and the
granting Of teschersN certificates within
their several jurisdictions'
In 1884 the section was amended by
what is known as the Perry amendment,
which provides that "the Legislature shall
provide for Board OF Education in each
county. The County Superin-
tendents and the County Boards of Educa-
ton shall have control of the examinations
Of teachers and the granting of teachers
certificates within their respective jurisdie-
tons"
1t was contended before Superintendent
Welcker that this limited the County
Board OF Examination erected under the
County Boards of Education to the juris-
diction of the latter, as it then existed,
and from which must be excluded the
cities with distinct and Independent Boards
of Education. But he held that the
amendment We have quoted gave to the
County Boards exclusive control of exami-
nations Of teachers and the issuance of
certificates, thus literally destroying the
City Boards of Examination
This ruling was highly unsatisfactory to
the City Boards and to teachers generally.
The City Boards had been given distinct
jurisdiction which, by no affirmative re-
pealing clause, had been taken from them.
The County Boards were clearly and dis
tinctly limited in their jurisdiction to the
county limits, exclusive of municipal ter
ritory. Within this latter territory, by
law, Boards of Education had been erected,
and the exercise of their powers and
authority limited to corporate bounds.
1t was claimed that unless the
Constitution required new action by the
Legislature in the erection of County
Boards of Education in each county, the
old County and City Boards remained, and
their jurisdiction was clearly exclusive of
municipal bounds in one case, and within
ci'y-bounds in the other. As matter of
TACT. no new legislation was had, nor is it
required on this point. Professor Welcker,
however, took a directly opposite view,
and held, in effect, that the Constitution is
5elf-operative. But even if that be admit
ted, the limitation as to jurisdiction must
be taken to mean the territory of a county
outside of the jurisdictional area already
existing under the law creating CITY
Boards of Education
The Superior Court of Alameda county
has had this question before it, and holds
shat the Welcker view was erroneous that
.he County Boards are limited in exercis-
ing their powers to the territory over
which the law gave them jurisdiction
when the amendment TO the Constitution
became effective. The same rule applies
10 City Boards. So that, under the ruling
Of the Court, the jurisdictions of County
and City Boards was not changed in any
respect by the constitutional amendment.
the only change relating to the power to
sslect textbooks.
This ruling is certainly supported by the
reason Of the case and the evidently plain
meaning of the amendment, which was
intended only to reach the textbook cues
non, and not to shear municipal boards of
any powers they possess concerning the
establishment of Boards of Examination
and the issuance of certificates tn teachers